Ryley Walker (born July 21, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

Biography

Walker, and critics, have cited the band

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

and singer-songwriter

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

as early influences. Walker began his career in Chicago's independent music scene after moving there in the early 2010s, releasing several cassette EPs and a vinyl EP. In 2014, he released his debut album for the

Tompkins Square Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on ...

label, and followed it early in 2015 with '' Primrose Green'' released on Dead Oceans. Backing musicians Walker employed on ''Primrose Green'' include several noted Chicago jazz and experimental musicians such as

Fred Lonberg-Holm Fred Lonberg-Holm (born 1 October 1962) is an American cellist based in Chicago. He moved from New York City to Chicago in 1995. Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert wor ...

. Also in 2015, Walker released an instrumental album, recorded in collaboration with fellow Chicago musician , entitled ''Land of Plenty''. It was recorded live during a January 2015 residency at The Whistler nightclub in Chicago. The songs on the album were taken from the last two shows of the residency, on January 25 and 30. MacKay's guitar was recorded on the left channel and Walker's guitar was recorded on the right channel. Their instruments converge in the center. MacKay played 6-string guitar, requinto and glass slide, while Walker played 6 & 12-string guitars. The album's sound was described as fingerstyle ballads, psychedelic waltzes, and raga-inspired blues. The duo's second album, ''Spiderbeetlebee'', was released by Drag City in 2017. MacKay performs in Walker's live band, from 2017 or earlier through 2021 and has also played on at least one of Walker's other records. On August 19, 2016, Walker released his fourth solo album, ''Golden Sings That Have Been Sung'', which was yet another change in his evolving sound. His fifth is ''Deafman Glance'', released in May 2018. Walker released ''The Lillywhite Sessions'', an album of covers of the aforementioned Dave Matthews Band album. In 2021 Walker released ''Deep Fried Grandeur'', a live album with the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

band

Kikagaku Moyo were a Japanese psychedelic band founded in Tokyo. The band's name translates to "geometric patterns." Name Kikagaku Moyo (in Japanese Kanji 幾何学模様, transliterated ''Kikagaku Moyō'') translates to “geometric patterns”, which the ...

, and ''Course in Fable'', his sixth solo album of original music, both on his own Husky Pants Records label. Walker has, as of 2021, released two albums with Chicago-based jazz drummer . The first, ''Cannots'', was released by Dead Oceans in 2016. ''Little Common Twist'' was released by Thrill Jockey in November 2019. As of 2021, recently Walker had gotten sober and had moved from New York City to Vermont. As of 2022, Walker had moved back to New York.

Discography

Albums

*''All Kinds of You'' (Tompkins Square Records, 2014) *'' Primrose Green'' (

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group, which also ...

, 2015) *''Land of Plenty'' (Whistler Records, 2015), with Bill MacKay *''

Golden Sings That Have Been Sung ''Golden Sings That Have Been Sung'' is the third studio album by American musician Ryley Walker. It was released in August 2016 under Dead Oceans Records. Critical reception The album received a Metacritic score of 80 based on 16 critics, indi ...

'' (Dead Oceans, 2016) *''Cannots'' (Dead Oceans, 2016), with Charles Rumback *''Spiderbeetlebee'' (Drag City, 2017), with Bill MacKay *''

Deafman Glance ''Deafman Glance'' is the fourth studio album by American musician Ryley Walker. It was released in May 2018 under Dead Oceans Records. Critical reception The album received a Metacritic score of 76 based on 13 critics, indicating generally favo ...

'' (Dead Oceans, 2018) *''The Lillywhite Sessions'' (covers from a 2001 Dave Matthews Band album) (2018) *''Little Common Twist'' (Thrill Jockey, 2019), with Charles Rumback *''Deep Fried Grandeur'' (Husky Pants Records, 2021) with

*''Course in Fable'' (Husky Pants Records, 2021)

EPs

*''The Evidence of Things Unseen'' (Plustapes, 2011) *''Of Deathly Premonitions'' (with

Daniel Bachman Daniel Bachman (born 1989) is an American Primitive guitarist, drone musician, and independent scholar from Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States. Career Bachman's first projects were released under the moniker Sacred Harp. In 2011, Bachm ...

) (Plustapes, 2011) *''West Wind'' (Tompkins Square, 2013) *''So Certain EP'' (Husky Pants Records, 2022)

References

External links

*
Ryley Walker: October 9, 2015 Rough Trade NYC (Tompkins Square 10th Anniversary)
– live recording for free download *

Ryley Walker Ryley Walker (born July 21, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rockford, Illinois. Biography Walker, and critics, have cited the band Genesis and singer-songwriter Nick Drake as early influences. Walker began his career ...

live recordings on Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ryley American folk guitarists American male guitarists 1989 births Living people Singer-songwriters from Illinois Musicians from Rockford, Illinois Guitarists from Chicago 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists Dead Oceans artists American male singer-songwriters